Brought to you by the Washington Trollers Association.

The Washington Trollers Association represents the hook and line salmon fishermen of Washington State. With approximately 120 members, the fleet fishes the ocean coast from the Columbia River to the Canadian border.

The Washington Troll Fishery

Troll caught salmon are considered the gold standard for quality and handling. Troll caught chinook salmon are taken individually on hook and line, stunned, bled, dressed and iced or frozen immediately. As Washington trollers fish on the ocean, the salmon are still feeding and in prime condition when they are landed. When salmon begin their journey into fresh water for spawning, they stop feeding and begin to consume their fat reserves. For this reason, an ocean caught salmon is considered more desirable.

Members of the Makah and Quillyette Indian Nations are major participants in this fishery.

The fishery begins in May and runs until the allocated quota is caught, often through August.The fishing area is the ocean waters off the Washington coast. The catch quota, recently 80,000 fish, ranks smallest behind Alaska, California, British Columbia and Oregon. Marbled salmon are most abundant in late July-August.